Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said former coach Adrian Griffin was “figuring things out” before the team fired him last month, but he’s enjoying the security of having Doc Rivers in charge, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Antetokounmpo felt like he had to become a more vocal locker room leader earlier in the season with a first-time head coach running the team. That responsibility has eased, and Antetokounmpo expressed full confidence in Rivers’ ability to get the team ready for the postseason.
“We have to keep on evolving. We don’t have to change our identity,” he said. “Of course, we gotta be stronger. We gotta be tougher. I have to play better. I have to see the game better. But we have to keep on evolving. We have to add coach Doc’s philosophy with what has been working and hopefully can create a great mix for the next 25 games that we have and compete in the playoffs.”
Another major difference for Milwaukee will be the presence of Damian Lillard, a supreme scorer with the ability to take over playoff games. Antetokounmpo and Lillard had discussions about the direction of the season while they were in Indianapolis for All-Star Weekend, Nehm adds.
“I am his biggest fan,” Antetokounmpo said. “Good or bad, I ride with Dame until the f—ing end. I ride with Dame. Like I’ve been saying this over and over again. This. Is. His. Team. Down the stretch, he’s going to get the ball. There’s nothing else that we will do. I don’t know how else to put it. I don’t know what else to say. But at the end of the day, he has to believe it too.”
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Coach Billy Donovan talked to Danilo Gallinari about joining the Bulls before he opted to sign with Milwaukee, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Donovan, who coached Gallinari during the 2019/20 season in Oklahoma City, said the veteran forward was looking for a situation with a greater opportunity for playing time.
- Pistons coach Monty Williams said winning as many games as possible will be the priority for the rest of the season, tweets Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. “I’m not going to be throwing certain combinations on the floor just to see how they look,” Williams said. “We’re done with that … we’ll be competing.”
- Tyrese Haliburton had been listed as questionable with a hamstring issue for every game since January 30, but he’s not on the Pacers‘ injury report for Thursday’s contest with Detroit, tweets Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Aaron Nesmith will miss the game with a sprained right ankle, while Jalen Smith is questionable due to back spasms.
Polite way of saying you didn’t want Griff Giannis. Milwaukee are a slow car wreck you can’t turn away from.
They should have kept Bud. His brother died and they wondered why he wasn’t coaching at 100%. They bring in Giannis’ choice and he doesn’t last to Allstar even when they had one of the best records in the league. They are losers under Glenn. When they end up firing him too because he can’t coach in the playoffs don’t blame anyone else but Giannis and Dame.
Oh wow I didn’t know that abt bud, that sucks. Still hard to envision keeping him tho after the brutal blunders he made in that Miami series. I know he was going against the best coach in the league but still. But I see ur point, at this point they’d be better off having kept bud than where they are now
Agreed. It was crazy they even let Bud coach that series in the midst of grieving. Thats what assistant coaches are for.
You gotta wonder if the bucks would still make that trade knowing Jrue would end up in Boston.
Gallinari is a guy that can help. Just don’t know if he’s healed yet. I read that Celtics didn’t bring him back. Cause he wasn’t moving right. I guess it’s been long enough to heal. Game shape is another thing. I’ll be watching to see how he looks. Cause Bucks can definitely use him now.
I love the enthusiasm of Monty Williams.. the team is more talented now than before the trade deadline but I still don’t see them winning a whole lot. The draft class is pretty weak so there shouldn’t be any reason to tank.
Dame < Holiday in terms of overall basketball player and team effectiveness. That’s is the Bucs problem